Plaque unveiled to commemorate Basque refugees of Brampton of 1937

The event which took place on Saturday, June 17 was organised to commemorate the arrival of 100 Basque Children to the Brampton in May 1937. A plaque had been commissioned by the Basque Children’s Association 37 UK (BCA).

The event organisers Dr Rob David and Luis Eckersley were the main speakers.

Other speakers were Simon Martinez from the BCA and Marcia Reid Fotheringham, the deputy lieutenant of Cumbria, who welcomed the invited guests on behalf of the Brampton community and the wider Cumbria community, who hosted other groups of Basque Children in Ambleside, Carlisle and Wigton.

Simon Martinez speaks to people in the room at the event (Image: Supplied)

Luis Eckersley, the son of Carmen Eckersley, the only survivor of the Brampton colony who was in attendance, explained hers and her siblings' Edurne and Luis experiences in Brampton, Carlisle and the Glasgow areas.

He included how, at the age of 8, she was separated from her parents and then separated from her brother and sister when they were sent to Glasgow.

He expressed his thanks to the Alford family who had taken Carmen into their home and cared for her until her eventual marriage to his father, Clifford.

A representative of the Alford family, Kenneth, was present.

He explained that the children were eventually reunited with their parents Francisco and Frutosa in 1949, talking about how the family worked throughout their lives and brought up their families and in turn they all worked to the benefit of the UK.

Carmen unveils the plaque (Image: Supplied)

He described how extremely proud the families were of their parents and grandparents, and how, through adversity, they managed to carry on and provide examples of how refugees can be of value to the hosting countries.

He then went on to thank Eric Martlew, who suggested the idea of a plaque, Dr Rob David for all his work and research, the BCA and Brampton Parish Council, Brampton Historical Society, Lancaster University and the other sponsors.

A big thanks was paid to Malcolm Little who designed the plaque, leaflets, and display boards.

He then invited his mother Carmen to unveil the plaque, which eventually will be sited on the building which has replaced the Brampton colony building.

Guests gathered at The Howard Arms Hotel, Brampton (Image: Supplied)

Dr David then described the process of repatriation and the closure of the Brampton home and where all the children were eventually dispersed to.

The event was brought to a close by Luis Eckersley and he once again thanked all those who had attended the event and the people of Brampton and Cumbria.

The display boards will be transferred to the Moot Hall in Brampton.